"Happy You Day": Introducing Gender-Neutral Mother's Day Cards

Just in time for mother's day, UK supermarket chain Waitrose has the perfect card for all the gender-neutral mothers out there!

"Happy You Day" reads the card included in the retailer's Mother's Day range, reports The Sunday Times.

The company says the cards are aimed at "broadening out who the cards can go to, whether it's grandmas or transgender mums."

Waitrose has been joined by other retailers, including Scribbler, whose Mother’s Day offerings include a “Two mums are better than one” card for same-sex couples and a “Dad, thanks for being the most amazing mum” card.

The changes come after calls by some trans activists to rename Mother’s Day. Suggestions include Guardian’s Day and Carer’s Day. -The Sunday Times

Several schools, including High Bank School in West Yorkshire and Consett Junior School in Durham have changed the holiday to "Special Person's Day" or "Mother's and Special Person's Day."

Pick a gender, any gender, or don't

Waitrose's "Happy You Day" card the latest gender-neutral accommodation in what has been a year of change. Canada, for example, passed a bill in February to change the lyrics of its national anthem so that they will be “gender-neutral” - replacing the lyrics “in all thy sons command” with “in all of us command,” according to CBC News. Former member of the Canadian House of Commons Mauril Bélanger first introduced the legislation in 2016.

Meanwhile, last week Campus Reform reported that the Kennesaw State University LGBT Resource Center has conveniently produced a new pamphlet that adds “ne,” “ve,” “ey,” “ze,” and “xe” to the list of gender neutral pronouns.

The “Gender Neutral Pronouns” pamphlet, a copy of which was obtained by Campus Reform, tells students that “some people don’t feel like traditional gender pronouns fit their gender identities,” and thus lists alternatives that students can use instead. -Campus Reform

The pronouns are accompanied by a conjugation chart listing how they should be used as a subject, object, possessive, possessive pronoun and reflexive.

For example, to refer to a student who identifies as “ne,” one could say “Ne laughed” or “That is nirs.”

To refer to a student who identifies as “ve,” the pamphlet explains that one would say “Vis eyes gleam” or “I called ver.”

The pamphlet - which lists seven different types of gender neutral pronouns - encourages students to ask their friends, classmates, and coworkers how they identify before making any assumptions.

The guide also reminds those who might assume one's gender that students "may change their pronouns without changing their name, appearance, or gender identity." Talk about low effort. In order to remedy this, Kennesaw State recommends that people's preferred pronouns be re-confirmed during regular "check-ins at meetings or in class."

“It can be tough to remember pronouns at first,” the guide notes. “Correct pronoun use is an easy step toward showing respect for people of every gender.”